(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Airbus sales chief John Leahy conceded defeat to Boeing Co at his last European air show, marking a rare show of humility from the American who confirmed his plans to retire after racking up $1.7tn of jet orders over two decades.
The time-frame for Leahy's exit isn't yet clear, and the executive will work on a smooth transition to deputy Kiran Rao, he said at Airbus's closing press conference at the Paris Air Show. Airbus had no new civil models coming to market at the expo, unlike Boeing, which racked up more than 300 sales and commitments for the Max 10 stretch of its 737 single-aisle workhorse.
'The fact is, this is a slower year for orders than previous years, Leahy, 66, said at the briefing yesterday. 'Are we conceding that Boeing sold a few more airplanes than we did? Yes. Every dog gets his day.
Airbus secured $39.7bn of new jetliner business at the show, Leahy said, comprising firm orders for 144 aircraft worth $18.5bn at list prices and looser commitments for 182 planes valued at $21.2bn. In terms of firm deals — those that can be included in the manufacturers' backlogs — it came out roughly neck-and-neck with Boeing, he added.
Toulouse, France-based Airbus will 'work out a good time to make the sales transition, Leahy said. Rao, executive vice-president of strategy and marketing at the commercial-plane unit, has already been bloodied at the sharp end of the sales process, having led talks with AirAsia. CEO Tony Fernandes that secured an order for 14 A320ceo aircraft valued at $1.4bn and led a late order spurt for his company.
Rao, 53, 'spent all night negotiating with Tony until he got it done, Leahy said. The Indian-born executive — who joked that his boss plans to take up yoga in retirement — has a tough act to follow, with Leahy having racked up more than 15,500 orders since becoming commercial chief more than two decades ago, catapulting Airbus from an 18% share of the jetliner market to a 50-50 balance with Boeing.
New Yorker Leahy added that Dubai-based Emirates is 'very interested in an enhanced version of Airbus superjumbo plane dubbed the A380plus. Leahy said he held 90 minutes of talks with the carrier's president, Tim Clark, during the show and found him very receptive to the improvements, which include 4.7-metre (15-foot) winglets designed reduce drag and pare fuel consumption by as much as 4%.
Emirates is in early talks about the purchase of 20 A380s to add to the 140 it ordered previously, people familiar with the discussions said earlier month. With the next main air show to be held in Dubai in November, that raises the prospect of Leahy going out with a flourish in the form of a near $9bn order, though landing a deal will also be tough after Clark said he's concerned about Airbus's commitment to sticking with the slow-selling A380 programme.
Leahy wouldn't specify if he'll still be in charge then, saying only 'This is definitely my last big air show. I'm going to leave before the end of the year.
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